CGT builds its business in Europe with acquisitions

Updated Aug. 28

Cambridge, Ontario-based Canadian General-Tower Ltd. has acquired the assets of two companies in France, AlkorDraka Industries and Alkor Medical Tubing, during a bankruptcy process to add capacity for plastic films and increase its presence in Europe.

Founded in 1869, CGT started out making wagon wheels and ax handles. Over the last 150 years, it evolved into topcoats and cover stocks for automotive seating and instrument panels as well as pool liners and building products like roof membranes and decking surfaces.

With annual sales of $250 million, CGT ranks among the top 30 North American film and sheet manufacturers, according to Plastics News' latest ranking.

CGT has manufacturing plants in New Braunfels, Texas, and Changshu, China, but its footprint in Europe was limited to a sales office in Lyon, France, until now. The acquisition gives CGT a manufacturing base in Europe and adds to its existing portfolio.

The two businesses, which were acquired from Vulcalux France BV, have decades of experience in calendering, printing and laminating — and new names.

Liancourt, France-based AlkorDraka, which had been a supplier to CGT, has been making engineered vinyl films for pool uses as well as window coatings, ceiling and wall decoration, dance floors and movie screens for 62 years. It will go forward as CGT Alkor.

Montpelier, France-based Alkor Medical Tubing, which has been producing flexible films from a variety of materials for about 30 years, is now CGT Medical Products.

Terms of the acquisitions were not disclosed. CGT will retain the employees of both companies and make capital improvements to help them increase sales, CGT CEO Craig Richardson told Plastics News.

"These two companies had effectively been starved from meaningful capital investments these past few years due to cash flow difficulties," Richardson said in an email. "CGT has a history of re-investing its earnings into strategically focused technology and equipment, so this will be an immediate priority for our operations team."

AlkorDraka had been a tolling supplier for CGT for several years. Richardson said the partnership made CGT the top pool liner provider to Europe.

"Consistent with CGT's local-for-local supply strategy, we were highly focused on establishing a manufacturing presence in Europe," Richardson said. "When the opportunity to acquire Alkor through a bankruptcy process came about, our team responded immediately. In addition, Alkor's diversification in many industrial markets is very attractive and important to CGT global growth strategy."

CGT's automotive business, particularly in China, had been growing disproportionately over the industrial side, according to Richardson, and officials of the company, which saw global sales of $400 million in 2018, wanted to address that.

"This acquisition would provide immediate aggregation in our industrial portfolio to help balance our market proportion," Richardson said.

The company expects the acquisition to eventually benefit automotive sales in Europe as well.

"We also have a strong future vision to use the Alkor site, which provides sufficient growth space, to eventually set up a manufacturing presence for our automotive products, in order to provide a growth platform for CGT's European automotive business," Richardson said.

The two acquired businesses were part of the AlkorDraka Group along with DrakaPolymer Films, which makes vinyl film for office supplies.

Vulcalux was going to merge the polymer films business with Renolit Benelux BV, but the deal was called off during the antitrust investigation process, according to a Jan. 16 news release, in part because Draka's customers came out in support of its products and services and the business did well in 2018.

Vulcalux officials hung onto DrakaPolymer Films and sold AlkorDraka and Alkor Medical. The holding company had acquired the medical tubing business in 2017 from Manudo Group.

CGT officials are looking forward to putting their PVC expertise to use in the medical market.

"While medical is new to CGT, we believe we can substantially enhance Alkor Medical's well-respected products and unique medical registrations in Europe into a much larger business, using CGT's global technical and marketing teams and reputation," Richardson said. "We are very excited about the growth possibilities this large global market offers to CGT."